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Palm Beach County can be rough when it comes to the food scene. With cities named Loxahatchee Groves, Hypoluxo, and Pahokee you wouldn’t expect a robust and innovative food scene, but with the right connections, time, and patience, we were able to find some deliciousness. Unfortunately, some true gems like Jamaericans in Boynton Beach, The New Vegan and Donnie’s, both in Delray, have closed their doors, resulting in massive losses to Palm Beach County’s Black food landscape. Thankfully, it’s been wonderful experiencing the remaining quaint, yet amazingly delicious spots throughout 2022.
We created this year’s list by tallying all the tags and mentions on our survey post and reviewing the standard rating sites. Of course, our primary assessments were conducted by our food review team that PAID TO EAT AT ALL OF THESE SPOTS to formulate Palm Beach County’s Best 10 Black Owned Restaurants of 2022. Here are the top 10:
#1
Chunkay
8344 Garden Rd, Riviera Beach, FL 33404
Phone: (561) 473-3710
Chunkay is quite possibly the best Trinidadian restaurant in the state. This space embraces grandma’s cooking with its all natural ingredients, house made seasonings, and service so hospitable, you feel just like family. Trinidadian cuisine is a beautiful fusion of various cultures including, African (mainly West African), Creole, Indian-South Asian, Chinese, Indigenous. Amerindian, Arab, European, and even some Latin American-Spanish-Portuguese inspirations.
Chunkay is nothing short of amazing. The menu features staples like roti, doubles, and seafood on a recurring basis in addition to their natural pressed juices and of course, the signature tea-like drink called Sorel. Some of my favorite entrees are the Doubles, a unique dish made with two baras (flat fried dough) and then filled with curry channa (curried chickpeas) and various chutneys. Chunkay chutneys were AMAZING, made with cucumber, chana, tamarid sauce, mango sauce, and a pepper sauce. I combined the ingredients and had a party for my palate with a fluffy delicious taco! The flavors harmonized with each other, forming a unified one two punch that had you immediately leaning in for the second bite, that is if you didn’t just push the whole thing in your mouth. The amazing CORN SOUP included fresh rolled dough dumplings, veggies, and root vegetables. Following that amazing experience, we had Lo Mein, a vegan and vegetarian friendly Chinese dish that can also be ordered with chicken. The space is vegan and vegetarian friendly, as most items are made from scratch. Chunkay was the breakout jewel of Palm Beach County and deserves to be celebrated.
#2
Big John’s Eatery
100 Sansburys Way Suite 108, West Palm Beach, FL 33411
Phone: (561) 814-5169
This is the city’s best brunch. Home Palm Beach County’s Oxtails and Grits, you will find the cuisine both nostalgic and innovative. Served on top of fluffy buttery seasoned grits, the braised oxtails with grits were outstanding. The fat to meat ratio was perfect along with each tender, flavorful piece boasting a center cut steak quality wrapped loosely around each bone. The French toast and their rendition of a Shrimp Po Boy were both delicious. If you’re in Palm Beach County and want a southern inspired brunch with a slight Caribbean flare, then this is definitely the place to be.
#3
Trindy Gourmet
407 N Rosemary Ave, West Palm Beach, FL 33401
Phone: (561) 570-6325
The eatery is reminiscent of a Parisian café with its bright colors, cozy feel and amazing tunes playing all morning. The menu includes the usual brunch suspects, with a healthy twist, and savory, delicious entrees. One of my favorite salads is their City Side Salad with sweet apples, earthy avocado, spinach leaves and crumbles of bacon. I recommend their house dressing, as it incorporates magnificently with the salad and its components. Another of my favorites is the Loaded Grit Bowl with pork sausage, bacon, scrambled eggs with cheese, and topped with crispy bacon. You can go even more extreme by adding toppings like ham, green pepper, and onions for a true foodie experience. Trindy grits are the real star here. They are creamy, salty and buttery, easily eliciting “Damn, these some good ass grits,” and “Who made these grits?” Definitely a consistent and solid breakfast and brunch option while in Palm Beach County.
#4
Off tha Bone
1516 N Tamarind Ave, West Palm Beach, FL 33401
Phone: (561) 904-6142
Off Tha Bone, has reached neighborhood staple status over the years. With its rustic brick walls and large, iron, hand-constructed grills billowing smoke so aromatic, you can almost taste the ribs with each whiff—this is South Florida BBQ at its finest. The space is known for churning out youth fair sized turkey legs so amazingly smoky, juicy and tender, the texture makes you forget it’s turkey. You can order the Turkey Leg whole or have it pulled off and smothered in barbecue sauce. I choose the Game of Thrones style leg, since ripping the meat from the bone allows me to connect with my spirit animal and ancestors. The ribs are grilled high heat and come out so succulent, the meat falls off the bone. They and BBQ chicken are incredibly flavorful. The sides are fire! This is a spot that any soul food or BBQ lover should not miss.
#5
Nessa’s Kitchen
3725 Lake Worth Rd, Palm Springs, FL 33461
Phone: (561) 328-8906
This no-frills Haitian eatery is filled with flavor and organic-natural cooking. No corners are cut here. From fresh goat cut by a local butcher to a NO MAGGI RULE that I loved. The seasonings are crafted from scratch, so the authenticity remains in each bite of griot, turkey, and even the braised oxtails. They infuse what I call The Trinity of Haitian Cooking – cloves, garlic and thyme – into their natural and organic way of cooking. If you’ve been reluctant to try Haitian cuisine, this is a wonderful way to break the cycle of ignorance. My Haitian readers, please visit to validate my claims that it rivals your grandmother’s culinary goodness. The fried snapper was memorable, even as I drove back to Miami. They even make Haitian street food with their giant Pate Kode and other Fritay options. This is a space that you will find yourself visiting again and again. I’ve taken the drive from Miami more than once.
#6
Sirgae Woodfired Pizza
437 Northwood Rd, West Palm Beach, FL 33407
Phone: (561) 284-6915
What I appreciated about this quick casual spot is that your pizza is created right in front of you like an old school pizzeria! You can order your pizza with any and all the toppings you want on top of their freshly rolled dough and have it fired up in their ginormous oven that skyrockets up to 800 degrees! The Neapolitan style pizza is delicious. The chef makes everything from scratch, down to the marinara and their secret pizza dough recipe. I was happy to discover that they not only cater to meat eaters, but also offer delicious vegan options using a delicious cauliflower crust and vegan cheeses. With so many quick casual concepts popping up, I was relieved to finally have homemade EVERYTHING, even down to blanching and pickling veggies for amazing toppings. Oh, and the garlic rolls are FIRE!
#7
Café Sweets Bakery
519 25th St, West Palm Beach, FL 33407
Phone: (561) 249-7167
This whimsically decorated bakery features Southern-style pastries, a variety of flavored cupcakes, an assortment of delicious pies, traditional and custom-made cakes, tarts, cookies, croissants and beverages. Owner Sharlyn Davis has truly outdone herself with this local favorite, putting her New York Art Institute Culinary pastry chef training to the test. I sampled several items. The standouts were the Treasure Bar with chocolate chips, walnuts, coconut, all over a graham cracker crust; the Lemon Bar, made with an incredible custard reminiscent of a chess pie; the fudge brownie, and an assortment of different cupcake flavors. Oh, and how could I forget her mini pies, including a sweet potato pie version. This spot has been very consistent over the years and has become of a part of the city’s broader culinary landscape.
#8
Thirds BBQ
425 Kanuga Dr.
West Palm Beach, FL 33401
Open on Fridays at Civil Society [WPB] – 5:30 pm – 9-30 pm
Trey and Autumn are a unique team of husband and wife. Their BBQ Pop Up has a weekly Friday schedule and is mobile throughout the week. This spot routinely wins BBQ competitions and has side items and desserts that will have you willing to attack someone, which I can attest to. They use a classic Kansas City BBQ style of hot smoking chicken, ribs, and fish using an inhouse dry rub, then finishing with a tomato-based barbeque sauce that is also house made. It’s really hard to express how absolutely robust and outstanding the food coming out of this trailer is. You cannot go wrong with anything and I can’t pick a favorite because I truly love them all. Each of their flavors speak to the African-American, Cuban, and Caribbean at large flavor profile. Great people and great food. If you miss them on Friday, visit their website at https://www.thirdsbbq.com/, to find out where they’ll be throughout the week.
#9
Majestic 7
407 Northwood Rd, West Palm Beach, FL 33407
Phone: (561) 508-4705
This space is in a great location with an outside area where folks kick back and relax while dining on an unpretentious menu of southern inspired cuisine. Like Big John Eatery, this space has a delicious entrée of Oxtails and Grits. The oxtails were shaved off the bone, flavorful and tender sitting on top of creamy, fluffy grits. The real star is their fried chicken. Originally created by Chef Seymour, the delicious bird is a cross between Charles’ Pan-Fried Chicken in Harlem and Geraldine Sim’s Prive’ Bird in Memphis. The coating is crisp, not crunchy, with a seasoning blend of familiar and unfamiliar flavor profiles worthy of a grandmother’s blend of goodness.
#10
Hook Fish & Chicken
955 Sansburys Way STE 213, West Palm Beach, FL 33411
Phone: (561) 249-0070
You better take that judgement and stuff it right back in that brain of yours. First of all, make sure you take a good look at this address, because any of the other locations can be disastrous, and are not Black owned. I’m only vouching for THIS LOCATION. The fried fish was delectable and seasoned to perfection. The Buffalo and lemon pepper wet sauces for their chicken strips were delicious and my favorites. I know it’s weird seeing a Hook Fish and Chicken on any top 10 list, but hey, they earned it. The customer service is amazing and the family who runs it, makes you feel just like that, family.
